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October 2018
October 2018 During the month of October, Yeovil Town F.C played 6 League matches and 1 League Cup fixture. They ended the month 16th in the League and into the third round of the Checkatrade Trophy. League 2: MD11 Colchester United Post-match Interview I think we have to take into consideration that this was our reserve team. With the previous game only a few days ago, I wanted to give the cup boys a run out in the league. But it's a different intensity. Playing in the league is much more about stamina over energy and unfortunately, our boys were dead on their feet before the 3/4 mark. It's not ideal, but we'll learn and push on from this. We were completely overshadowed by Colchester, their 18 shots to our 2. Some of them just aren't ready for this level yet." League 2: MD12 Exeter City Post-match Interview "That's more like it! Today was a big game. Rivals to Yeovil - bragging rights at stake. The highest scoring team in the league - challenge to keep a CS. Top of the League - looking to open up a points gap. And yet we came through with the best performance of the season! Tom scoring our first direct corner was a treat! After which, we shifted to a more defensive/possession based tactic and quickly grabbing a second to give us some comfort. From there on out, it was a case of just controlling the game, being tight defensively and creating opportunities when presented to us. We have a platform to build from now that we're discovering what we're about. I believe in this team to make up for lost ground!" Checkatrade Trophy: RD2 Stevenage Post-match Interview "I have to confess, that victory did feel great! Having had a tough time against Stevenage in August, it looked as though history was repeating itself once they got the goal. But, we responded quickly and sure enough, over the second half, we picked them off and took qualification into the next round. As it transpired, that would be their only shot in the game! Which I think is a testament to our progress recently. Credit to C. Duffus this evening. He's been on the fridges for most of the season due to the abundance of forwards at our disposal, but he came in tonight next to F. Zoko and the two played a great game. It's not a bad problem to have though... too many Strikers being in form!" League 2: MD13 Cheltenham Town Post-match Interview "Credit where it is due. Cheltenham punished us this evening. They scored the first against the run of play and then immediately struck back once we pulled level. Duffus made a great impact from the bench--he's on a hot streak right now! Thankfully, Alex pulled back the point for us at the last minute!" League 2: MD14 Tranmere Rovers Post-match Interview "I am so thrilled with that performance today. We were strong across the whole pitch and didn't give them a chance! Each of them deserves their own Man of the Match award. Now we head to Crewe Alexander midweek hopefully continue our ascension through the table!" League 2: MD15 Crewe Alexandra Post-match Interview "It didn't work for us today. I tried to balance our reserve team with our first team squad to create a better balance, and for 70 minutes it worked well. But when I instructed the team to press harder once we conceded, it would ultimately cost us the match. J. Grant and D. Ojo, through their inexperience, both left their post at the same time, which is where their two late goals came from. Given that Crewer at in the relegation zone with the worst defence in the league, I had higher hopes for this match. But it's over now. We got one more game left this month and we're settling for nothing less than three points!" League 2: MD16 Carlisle United Post-match Interview "That was tough to take. Once again, we were dominant for large spells of the game, but we failed to put our chances away. I am particularly disappointed with our wingers, who both missed clear cut chances. We didn't want to end the month this way but its happened now and we look ahead to the next match. On our recent transfer activity, I am delighted that F. Schram will be joining us effectively immediately and with M. Degerlund arriving in the winter window! We identified Frederik as a promising young Keeper that will take the place of the soon to be retired S. Phillips. Don't expect to see him too frequently this season, as we need to get him up to speed, having been a free agent for so long. But next season, certainly expect to see him in and around the team, competing with N. Baxter. Having represented his country 5 times already, he is obviously going to be eager to get back in contention ahead of the Euro's in 2020. With Marcus, we prioritised a left-footed CB who has composure on the ball and with great ball playing ability. A. Gafaiti has already made it clear to us that he wants to run down his contract and depart in the summer, and with G. Warren not getting any younger, we needed to bring in a player who could account for the quality both players possess." YeoLaTengo Monthly Review "This month, I am making a deliberate effort to focus only on the positives. Results haven't always gone our way, but it's the performances that count. We're playing so much smarter this month. We manage games well. We press when we need too, we slow the game down after a lead. There's a methodology in place and it's showing on the pitch. The one thing that's costing us is our lack of precision in front of the goal. Enter C. Duffus. Courtney has been a breath of fresh air. Rarely ever making the matchday squad, he got a surprise start in the Checkatrade Trophy and made the most of it with a brace. In the following four appearances, he netted four goals. The team has been crying out for a consistent Striker to lead the line and in Duffus, the team might have just found one. That's not to say A. Fisher has been a disappointment. On the contrary, it's his assists that are often gaining us these goals in the first place (he currently leads the way for us with 5 in the league). But his 5 goals in 15 appearances has been a key factor in the team dropping points. When you discount that 2/3 of our losses were at the hand of the reserve team, it's not all that bad! One thing for sure is that there needs to be better management of the squad when the fixtures pile up, as we can't afford to field a drastically weakened team each time. Some players are going to have to tough it out and fight the fatigue. November is another busy month for the club. FA Cup action enters the fray (making it two fixtures against Macclesfield that month) as well as the third round of the Checkatrade Trophy (making it two fixtures against Lincoln that month...) with two further league games either side. After which, we are only 3 league games away from the halfway mark. The minimum required is that we are in contention for the play-offs and sitting around tenth. Failing to do so might mean another season of finishing in the bottom half, which is the opposite of what we had hoped for at the beginning of the season." YeoLaTengo Player of the Month "One clear winning this month, and that's C. Duffus. 4 league goals from 3 appearances. A brace in the cup. He's the hottest striker in the league right now. He has rightfully earned his EFL League 2 POTM nomination, as has J. Gray. We'll find out early next month if either of them bring home the prize, but for this month, Courtney is our winner! Contract news T. James extended his contract until 2020 S. D'Almeida extended his contract until 2022 R. Browne extended his contract until 2021 A. Fisher extended his contract until 2020 Transfer News * Yeovil Town confirm the signing of 20-year old Swedish CB M. Degerlund from 'Hammarby IF '(Sweden). Hammarby IF will receive £370,000, with Marcus signing a 3-year contract. He arrives in January 2019. * Yeovil Town confirm the signing of 23-year old Icelandic GK F. Schram on a 2-year contract. He is registered to play in January 2019.